Apartment Story
by nubianroyalty
Summary: Her house got broken into. He lets her into his.
1. Chapter 1

_"Oh we're so disarming, darling, everything we did believe_

_Is diving, diving, diving, diving off the balcony_

_Tired and wired, we ruin too easy"_

**January**

Their place had been broken into on the night of January 23, the same day she found out that Pierce died. The same day that Troy left. Abed went to Rachel's house to seek for comfort. "Understandable", Annie thought to herself.

She could not stand the silence in Casa TroAnnieBed, or rather Casa AnnieBed. It was strange not hearing the usual Troy and Abed banter while she studied for her Criminology class. The silence stirred much sadness in her.

This was how she found herself having a drink at The Ballroom at 8 in the evening.

She was on her third glass of scotch, expecting to get drunk anytime soon but all she could feel was emptiness and a sense of longing to have things back the way they were. _"It's only been a day", _Annie thought. _"Things will get better." _ She downed the remaining contents of her scotch and savored the burning sensation she so loved.

"Easy there, Milady.", a familiar voice from behind her said. "I also did not expect you to be that much of a scotch drinker. May I?" Annie nodded as Jeff took the stool beside her. "I save the scotch for special occasions." Annie turned towards Jeff, giving him a good look at her eyes. They looked smaller than usual, possibly from crying. It had not been an easy day for all of them so seeing her like this was not surprising. Jeff reached out for hand and gave it a squeeze. Annie looked at her empty glass with the hopes of Jeff not seeing that her tears started falling. She hoped wrong. Jeff started to move his thumb over her hand. "Chuck, one more glass for woman right here please. This one is on me." Annie glanced at Jeff. And gave him the saddest smile he ever saw.

"I insist Annie", Jeff whispered into her ear. It was only 10 in the evening and they were both drunk and also very close. Annie snuggled closer to Jeff. "Let me drive you home."

"You don't have to Jeff. I can take care of myself. Pierce knew that. He believed in that." She paused and sighed. "Why can't you believe in that too?"

He held her closer. "I do Annie. More than you'll ever know but I'm not going to allow you to go home alone in this drunken state. Yes, you can take care of yourself. Yes, you're all grown up. You are also a very smart lady but the thing is, there are a lot of people out there who are not. So make the smart decision of accepting my offer to bring you back home tonight."

Annie sat straight up and looked at Jeff. She saw the look, that look he would always give her, that look that showed her how important she was to him. "Okay."

"I can take it from here Jeff. I think I'm pretty much safe."

They were at the entrance of Annie's building. It was 2 in the morning. It was also very cold. "I better go inside. I don't want to keep you out here in the cold.", she said. Jeff walked closer to Annie and held her in a very tight embrace. They stayed in each other's arms in silence, both not wanting to let go anytime soon.

"I promised Pierce to keep his favorite safe from harm." He paused.

"I don't want to be an obligation." Annie replied.

"You're not, Annie." Jeff let go of Annie's small frame and then brought his hands up to her face. "Besides, you're also my favorite. Now smile for me because if you don't, I won't leave."

She smiled. "Thank you." He brought her forehead to his lips. "Goodnight, Milady."

Annie stepped back.

"Goodnight, Milord."

Jeff's phone rang the moment he stepped into his car. _"Really? A booty call at this hour?", _Jeff thought as he fumbled around for his phone. It wasn't a booty call. It was Annie.

"What is it Annie? Did you forget anything in my car?"

There was no response.

"Annie?"

Then he heard a sniff.

"Annie? Are you okay?"

Then he heard crying.

"Annie, I'm going up whether you like it or not."

Jeff rushed up and saw her apartment door left ajar. Jeff slowly pushed the door open and found Annie on the floor crying surrounded by broken furniture, plates and lamps among others. "ANNIE!" He ran to her and held her close. "I'm calling the police. Once they get here and get things investigated, you're going home with me. I'll break the news to Abed and also tell him to stay at Rachel's." Annie didn't reply. "Annie, look at me." Jeff turned her face towards his. She was staring into space but her tears kept falling.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo for hours_

_While it sings itself or whatever it does_

_When it sings itself of its long lost loves_

**February **

She had been living with Jeff for a month. It's been two weeks since the break-in. The police finally arrested the thief , Annie and Abed finally got to fix their apartment. It was during that time that they discovered how much of Troy's things the thief stole. This made it harder for the roommates to get over Troy's departure. What made it even harder for Annie was when she discovered that the thief had also stolen the tiara that Pierce had given her.

Jeff saw all the life drain out of Annie the moment she found out that the tiara was gone. Pierce was the only father figure she had in her life and she held onto that tiara as a reminder. Now it was gone. The thief had sold it to some other guy for money. She was never going to get it back.

Seeing how going back to Casa TroAnnieBed was not going to make things easy for Annie, he told her to pack her things and stay with him until things get better. Annie hesitated at first, as she didn't want to be a bother to Jeff. But the lawyer insisted. "Okay, but I'm sleeping on the couch. There's no way I'm going to let you sleep on that tiny thing", Annie said.

They eased into the whole living together platonically quiet easily. Since Annie had to sell her car a month ago due to financial reasons, she would hitch with Jeff to and from school, except on days when Jeff would go out on dates and he had been going out on dates more often than usual.

Annie knew that he was serial dating as a distraction. As much as Jeff didn't want to admit it to Annie, he was just as devastated as her about Pierce and Troy. There would be times when Annie had to take the bus to school because Jeff would be coming from some other house. She appreciated his gesture of not bringing girls home to their apartment. Hearing Jeff and some other girl, or girls, banging in his bedroom was definitely something Annie did not want to her.

Not because she's jealous. Not because there were nights where she wished she would be the one Jeff was fu –"HEY! Are you hitching with us or what?", said the very impatient bus driver. This snapped Annie out of her thoughts. "Sorry. Yes. I'm hitching."

It was Friday. It was also one of those days when Annie had to take the bus to school. _"I bet he had a really good fuck last night.", _she thought. It had only been a month but she and Jeff have reached a level of comfort she never thought was possible. Jeff would sometimes tell her about the threesome he had the night before or how post-workout sex was actually very great. Annie didn't mind really. She was over Jeff. She just wished her sex life was just as exciting as is. It would help her get over those nights when she'd give into her sadness.

Friday is always a very full day for Annie. She has three straight three-hour classes so she only gets to see the study group for snacks.

Annie walked into the study room and found her favorite people studying on their own. She sat down and looked around. First at Shirley, who was busy computing sales for Shirley's Sandwiches for the month of February. She knew Shirley was doing everything on her own since her business partner passed away. Then at Jeff who was on his phone, who was playing or possible sexting whoever blonde/brunette girl he slept with last night. Beside Jeff, she saw Britta who obviously not reading because she hasn't turned the page of her Cognitive Psychology book for the last five minutes. Of course Britta wasn't okay. Even though things between her and Troy ended, Annie knew that Britta still loved Troy. She was sure Troy still felt the same about Britta. Then there was Abed, head almost buried in a notebook, right hand furiously writing. He was probably coming up with a new script. She had heard from Rachel that it was Abed's way of coping. His stories, however, always remain unfinished.

Then she glanced at the empty seats. She still couldn't believe how it's been a month since Pierce and Troy left. From seven, they were down to five just like that. Annie was starting to get teary-eyed again. "Hey guys!", she spoke up. She couldn't handle the silence anymore. "It's a Friday! Anyone want to have some drinks at The Ballroom?", she said enthusiastically.

"Sorry Annie, I promised the kids I'd take them to Lake Tahoe this weekend. We're leaving at 5 in the morning tomorrow."

"I already made plans tonight, Annie." which obviously translates to "I have a date tonight."

"Rachel and I rented out all nine seasons of Scrubs. We're planning to list down all the tropes per episode per season"

"I'll go with you.", the blonde spoke up.

"Great!", Annie said. "I'll see you tonight, Britta!"

It's been a while since she and Britta got to hang out by themselves. Sure, she would always see her at their apartment but she would always be with, on or around Troy.

"Thanks for the invite, Annie."

"Thank you for saying yes. I honestly thought I'd be drinking alone again tonight."

"Jeff has a date?", Britta asked.

"Yeah. I didn't feel like staying in his place alone tonight. Besides, it's a Friday night. Going out is what cool people do on Friday nights."

"You know you're cool no matter what , Annie. Want to toast?"

"Sure!", Annie said.

"To Pierce?"

"To Pierce!"

"To Troy?"

"To Troy!"

The two girls locked eyes.

"To the study group!" both said at the same time.

Annie felt good the rest of the evening. She and Britta were just the right amount of drunk. They were able to do a lot of catching up. Britta also finally got to open up to Annie about her breakup with Troy. They talked about more about Pierce and Troy that night. The two girls found themselves smiling and laughing at the memory of the two study group members.

She was such in a good mood that night, she found herself humming to "Daybreak" until she get to Jeff's apartment. Annie entered the apartment, switched on the lights and suddenly stopped humming.

On the couch was Jeff, eyes all red while staring at his empty glass in hand. He looked up at her with hurt eyes.

"I thought you had plans", she finally spoke up. Jeff set his glass on the table in front of him and leaned back on the couch. "Yeah." He sighed. "This was the plan."

Annie moved closer to Jeff. "Have you been crying?" She had lost Jeff again.

"Jeff?", she moved closer and sat beside Jeff. She laid her hand on Jeff's arm. "Are you okay?"

Jeff's head snapped. He flicked Annie's hand away from his arm. "Does it look like I'm okay, Annie Edison?! Why do you think have I been fucking more women than I usually do?! Why do you think I lied about going out tonight?! Why do you think I took advantage of you being out for several hours tonight?!" Annie was taken aback, lost for words. Jeff buried his face in his hands and groaned. His roommate took it as a signal to leave so Annie stood up and started to walk away until she felt a strong firm grip on her arm. Annie spun around and saw Jeff, eyes wet yet again with tears.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "Please stay, Annie." She stood still.

"I need you."

And in that moment, Annie did not see the 30-something year old arrogant lawyer but a lost and confused boy who got left behind by people he loved the most. A boy who was longing for comfort. A boy who was tired of getting left behind. Annie sat down and held Jeff in her arms.

Jeff buried his head at the crook of her neck and started to cry. "Please say that you won't leave me."

"Jeff you're drunk."

"Please."

"I'm not going anywhere."

They fell asleep in each other's arms that night and when they woke up the next day, neither wanted to let go.


	3. Chapter 3

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